


My Youth Is Yours

by Captain_Sack



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Hogwarts, M/M, MWPP, Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:35:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24966082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Sack/pseuds/Captain_Sack
Summary: The Marauders' first year at Hogwarts, from Sirius' POV
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I needed a Corona project and here we are - the Marauders' first year at school. I've been re-reading Harry Potter and had a sudden craving for a Marauders version of the books, in a similar style to JKR. Like everyone else I don't trust her to do our boys justice, so here we go. It's pretty much canon compliant, in the sense that there are four Marauders, they hate Snape, and James will end up with Lily. It's also my intention for some happy Wolfstar, but that won't happen until they're a bit older...

Everyone was staring. People always stared at him, thought Sirius grudgingly. Did they not think starting his first year at Hogwarts was nerve-wracking enough, without the feeling of every pair of eyes on platform 9 ¾ being fixed upon him? He knew why, of course – he was the Black heir, accompanied by his mother and father. You tended to attract attention in these times if you were from one of the most famous pureblood families around. Regulus had campaigned to come, desperate for a glimpse of the famous train. This, according to their mother, was terribly unbecoming behaviour for a son of Black. He was left to spend his morning with Kreacher. If it had been Sirius complaining for weeks, he doubted his punishment would have been quite so lenient.

‘Remember boy, you are representing far more than yourself.’ Orion Black had stopped his son, who was about to escape onto the train. Sirius looked up at him. Both his father and mother had the air of two people who intended to launch into a speech about how special it was to be part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, how many would kill for the privilege, how important purity of blood was. He’d had quite enough of that over the summer.

‘I know father,’ he said, wincing as his father’s hand gripped his shoulder firmly.

‘You are the heir to The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Your transgressions at Hogwarts will be seen as the transgressions of your family.’  
What about my successes, Sirius thought glumly. Merlin forbid his father give him any words of encouragement. He glanced around at his fellow students. Many of them were pushing their parents away, writhing out of their grip as they were attacked with one last kiss goodbye. He didn’t reckon he’d be getting so much as a handshake.

‘Yes father. I’ll be good,’ he said, trying to stand as straight as possible. Orion and Walburga looked incredulous, which, Sirius considered, was probably fair enough. He nodded at his parents, and sensing an opportunity to escape, walked calmly onto the train. No sooner had he turned back to look at the platform than his parents were gone.

‘Sirius!’ a voice called. He’d barely been on the train for five seconds before Narcissa had noticed him. Spinning around, he turned to face his cousin.

‘Narcissa! Always a pleasure,’ he offered in his most sincere ‘I’m-on-my-best-behaviour-‘ voice. 

‘You know I’ll be your prefect Sirius, and I won’t tolerate your brand of misbehaviour. Any nonsense and I’ll be sending a letter to Aunt Wulburga before Professor Slughorn can get the chance.’ He had also heard this particular speech many times over the summer. At this point he was pretty confident that he knew Narcissa’s prefect badge better than the back of his hand, having had it shoved in his face so often in the last month.

‘I know, I’ll be very very good, just off to grab a compartment, bye,’ he called, dodging into the nearest compartment and slamming the door. Narcissa was unlikely to follow him – she’d be racing down the carriage to see her gross boyfriend and start her prefect duties. 

The compartment was empty save for a girl around his age, who was pressed up against the window. She didn’t seem in the mood for conversation. No sooner had he hoisted his trunk into the storage above him and pulled off his robe than the compartment door slid open again.

‘Alright guys? You don’t mind do you, rest of the train is heaving?’ A tall boy, with messy black hair and round glasses, beamed through the compartment door. He was tailed by a far shorter, rather portly boy, who was glancing around nervously.

Sirius chanced a glance at the girl, who didn’t seem to have noticed the interruption. ‘Nah, go ahead,’ he said, motioning to the seats opposite. The first boy bounded through immediately, throwing himself on the seat directly opposite Sirius, leaving the second to cautiously shut the door behind them.

‘Oh lighten up Pete, no one’s going to hex you on the first day,’ the messy haired boy laughed. This didn’t seem to subdue the short boy at all. If anything, the reminder that hexes were a distinct possibility seemed to frighten him further. He gave a small whimper and sat down quietly, taking the seat next to the door. ‘I’m James Potter, and this one’s Peter Pettigrew. He’s a bit of a wet blanket, aren’t you Pete, but our families have known each other for yonks, so I said he could tag along with me.’ James offered out a lazy hand to Sirius, who shook it carefully.

‘Black,’ he replied. ‘Sirius Black.’ This had the expected effect. James immediately sat up, and Peter gave a further whimper, withdrawing himself deeper into his seat. ‘Wait, no, listen,’ Sirius started, ‘I can’t stand all that purity of blood nonsense, I haven’t got a problem with muggles. Honestly, I’m nothing like my family, I can’t stand any of them.’ This seemed to subdue James, who laughed once more.

‘Fair enough mate, my dad’s always said your parents are off their rockers. No offense meant,’ he added hesitantly, but Sirius was grinning back at him.

‘Don’t worry, they’re definitely off their rockers. My parents are second cousins – if anyone tried to make me marry one of my cousins I think I’d just end it all.’ James roared with laughter, prompting an even larger grin from Sirius. He’d never been around people who had anything less than a backbreaking amount of respect for the House of Black. His schooling had taken place at home, under the tutelage of individuals who’d refer to him as ‘Heir Black,’ never Sirius. To even suggest that he had negative feelings toward his family would earn at least two days in the cellar.  
Sirius looked across to Peter, who was had unfurled himself. He seemed to accept that, if James thought Sirius was okay, he probably was. Sirius smiled at him. ‘So, you two into Quidditch then?’  
James was off. He launched into a monologue detailing the highs and lows of his Quidditch team, the Wimbourne Wasps, before expressing his intention of joining a house team as soon as possible. Caught up in their conversation, none of the boys took any notice of the newest addition to their compartment, who immediately took a seat opposite the crying girl. They began their own whispered conversation until James (who had finally taken a breath) seemed to realise company had appeared.

‘Slytherin? If I got sorted into Slytherin I’d leave,’ he groaned, in response to a comment from the new boy. Sirius’ heart dropped. It was this he had been dreading – he knew of Slytherin’s reputation, had been taught that it was the only house he should aspire to be in. The Black heir being sorted into another house was unthinkable.

‘My whole family’s been in Slytherin,’ he replied gloomily. James appeared to notice that this was a sore spot, and offered him a wink.  
‘Blimey, and I thought you seemed alright!’ Sirius returned his wide smile.

‘Maybe I’ll break the tradition. Where are you heading then?’

This was clearly the right question to ask, as James leapt to his feet and pretended to wield an invisible sword. ‘Gryffindor, where dwell the brave of heart! Just like my mum and dad,’ he added, flopping back down. The boy next to the window snorted, causing James, Sirius and Peter to pay him attention for the first time since his entrance. He had long greasy hair, and an unbecoming crooked hook nose. 

‘Got a problem with that, oil head?’ Sirius and Peter laughed – the girl finally looked up and glared at them.

‘No,’ replied the hook-nosed boy. ‘If you’d rather be brawny than brainy –‘

‘Where are you going then, seeing as how you’re neither?’ Sirius interrupted. This tipped James over the edge. He clutched Peter as he guffawed, prompting the girl to stand up, dragging the boy with her.

‘Come on Severus, let’s find another compartment.’ She glowered at the rest of them, as if daring them to say anything. Sirius, however, had already formed the opinion that James was not one to back down from a challenge.

‘See you later Snivellus!’ he beamed, attempting to trip him up as the two left the compartment. The girl offered them one last disapproving stare before slamming the door on them, causing James and Sirius to collapse into further hysterics.

The rest of the journey seemed to pass in a blink. Sirius and James had clubbed together to buy enough sweets from the trolley lady to last the three of them until Christmas, which won Peter round to Sirius in an instant – he must have offered his thanks at least twenty times, his mouth full of pumpkin pasty. No sooner had they traded their last chocolate frog card than the train pulled to a stop, and, after a boat ride in which James had repeatedly attempted to provoke the giant squid, they found themselves stood in the Entrance Hall clumped together with the other first years. James elbowed Sirius in the side and pointed to the doors – he’d spotted Severus and the girl. Severus seemed, Sirius noted with a smile, far more nervous than either he or James. Taking the opportunity to glance around while they waited for McGonagall, Sirius’ eyes were drawn to a boy stood in the corner away from the rest of the group. He appeared terribly pale and peaky, as if he were on the verge of fainting. It looked as if he wanted nothing more than the fall through the floor and disappear. Sirius was in the middle of making a mental note to keep an eye out for him when the doors to the Great Hall flew open, and McGonagall beckoned them forward.


	2. Chapter 2

It was exactly as Andromeda had always described it. Hundreds of pairs of eyes fixed onto the trembling eleven year olds, who huddled close together as they made their way to the front of the hall. ‘It’s always seemed pretty cruel to me that they make everyone watch,’ she’d told Sirius a few days ago. At the time he’d simply responded with his typical bravado, but he now privately agreed. He could see Narcissa glaring at him from the Slytherin table, the arm of her boyfriend draped lazily around her. Catching his eye, she angled her prefect badge towards him.

‘QUIET,’ spoke Professor McGonagall. Sirius felt Peter jump beside him and clutch onto his robe. They’d made it to the Sorting Hat. An immediate hush fell over the hall, while Sirius risked one final glance at his cousin before turning to look at James.

‘Good luck mate, I hope you get Gryffindor.’ James simply winked back. It must be nice, Sirius thought, to know exactly where you’re headed and to know beyond doubt that you belong there. The faces at the Slytherin table had not looked particularly friendly.

‘As I call your name, you will walk to the stool and I shall place the Sorting Hat on your head. Once you have been sorted please join your housemates at your house table.’ McGonagall unfurled the scroll she had been carrying since collecting the first years. 

‘Avery, Niles.’

James leaned to whisper in Sirius’ ear. ‘He’s the son of that death eater, isn’t he? I’ve heard his dad’s right in the inner circle.’ Sirius nodded back. He knew his own father was well acquainted with the senior Avery – Niles was not one of Sirius and Regulus’ preferred playmates.

‘SLYTHERIN!’ 

Sirius rolled his eyes at James. Judging by the satisfied smirk on Avery’s face they were not the only ones who’d been expecting that answer.

‘Black, Sirius.’

James patted his shoulder gently as Sirius swallowed. He turned his head to look once more at Narcissa, who simply nodded towards the hat. This was it. He had four possible destinations in front of him but only one imaginable. There had never been a Black in any house other than Slytherin. As he lowered himself onto the stool, McGonagall placed the hat on his head. The last thing he saw was James giving him a thumbs up.

‘Ahh, another Black. But you’re a bit more complicated, aren’t you? Fancy yourself different from the rest of them. Cunning? Yes. Ambition? Oh, there’s lots of that in there. You would make a fine Slytherin’

Sirius shivered. ‘Please, don’t make me go there, I don’t want it, I know I have to but I don’t want it,’ he thought desperately.

‘You don’t want it?’ The hat did not sound surprised. ‘Very well. As you asked so nicely, I’d better put you in… GRYFFINDOR!’ 

McGonagall pulled the hat off his head and the Great Hall exploded. The Gryffindor table was clapping and cheering wildly, and James was being restrained by Peter, such was his desire to congratulate Sirius. This hadn’t happened, couldn’t have happened. He must have heard wrong, surely, surely, the hat had not sorted a Black into Gryffindor. Sirius turned, for the third time that evening, to search for his cousin’s face. Narcissa would not meet his eyes.

‘Mr Black?’ McGonagall gave him a small pat on the shoulder, and pointed him in the direction of the still celebrating table. Sirius forced himself to walk towards it, finding a seat next to a Gryffindor prefect, who smiled and shook his hand. It was as if he had left his courage on the train. Gryffindors were meant to be brave, were supposed to daring, but he did not feel like being any of those things – he felt instead as if he would like to run back to the hat and tell it he made a mistake, that maybe he did belong in Slytherin after all, because surely his parents would find out within hours. The thought made his blood turn to ice. This was it. He’d come close before, such as the time when he set his father’s study on fire (‘accidentally,’ a small voice in his head cried), but this had to be the final straw. Sirius knew he’d be waking up tomorrow morning to an owl delivering the official notice that he had been disowned.

He watched the next few faces become sorted in an absentminded manner, recognising the features of his father’s friends in many of the new Slytherins. The next Gryffindor to be sorted was Evans, Lily, who Sirius realised with a start was the crying girl from the train. As she took her seat a few places down from her he offered her a friendly smile – she did not return it. Instead she was scanning the Great Hall, just as Sirius had done minutes before. Her eyes met those of the greasy-haired Severus, who, Sirius noted with a bitterly pleased jolt, did not look thrilled to see that Lily was a Gryffindor. 

‘Blimey, he looks like he’s about to pass out,’ the prefect next to Sirius whispered. Indeed, the boy making his way to the stool was paler than Sirius would have thought it possible for a person to be. He had a large, ugly scar stretching from his left eye down to the tip of his lip.

‘Oh, I recognise him!’ Sirius told the prefect. ‘He was looking dead nervous earlier, I thought he was going to collapse.’ It was the boy from the entrance hall: the shadows from his chosen hiding spot had masked his disfigurement. 

Sirius watched keenly as the boy shivered beneath the hat, which took all of five seconds to decide that Lupin, Remus, was to become the next ‘GRYFFINDOR!’ The end of his sorting did not seem to calm Remus; if anything, he somehow became paler than he was in the entrance hall, gently shaking his head as if in disbelief. Sirius shuffled over and motioned to the seat next to him: Remus refused to meet his eyes and instead crumpled into a seat near to the teachers’ table. A number of older Gryffindors attempted to shake his hand, but Remus could only offer a flinch in response. 

Sirius was only allowed a few minutes to dwell on the mystery of Remus Lupin, before Peter dropped into the seat opposite. James was the next to be sorted – he sauntered towards the stool and grinned as McGonagall moved the hat towards him. It had not yet made contact with his head before it yelled the expected ‘GRYFFINDOR!’ 

Sirius and Peter cheered with the rest of the Gryffindors as James raced towards them, dropping into the seat next to Sirius and throwing an arm around his shoulders.

‘I KNEW you were alright! We did it!’ James cheered, his head clearly brimming with thoughts of writing to his parents to tell them he was following in their footsteps after all. The smile on Sirius’ face was obviously not as convincing as he had hoped, as James bent his head to Sirius’ ear and whispered so only the two of them could hear. ‘Look, it’s like McGonagall said. While you’re here your house is your family, so I guess that makes the two of us brothers now. I’ve got your back, mate’ 

As the sorting hat called out ‘Slytherin!’ for Wilkes, Anson, and the tables in front of them filled with food, Sirius felt the knot inside his stomach that had been twisting his insides since the sorting began untangle. 

‘Mr Lupin? If you could stay behind after dinner, I’d like a word.’ McGonagall spoke to Remus in a low voice, but Sirius, who had been watching the boy on and off throughout the feast, heard. It seemed James had too.  
‘What do you reckon that’s about then? Doesn’t look like the sort to be in trouble.’  
Sirius had no answer – he was watching Remus’ face carefully, noticing how he avoided the eyes of anyone else at the table, how he had shuddered when McGonagall walked away from him.  
‘If you’re that desperate to know just ask him later, he’ll be in our dorm,’ Peter told James. The thought had not yet occurred to Sirius although he felt lighter for it. Remus looked like the kind of boy who could do with someone watching out for him, and if James was willing to do it for Sirius, Sirius was willing to do it for Remus. He resolved to introduce himself to Remus as soon as the meeting with McGonagall was over. Yet, as he sunk down into his four poster bed some hours later, the feast and the excitement took its toll on Sirius, James, and Peter, and all were sleeping soundly when Remus finally arrived an hour after them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right, they're sorted - now we can finally get cracking with their time at Hogwarts...


End file.
